5 Potential Career Paths for the Returning Tyson Kidd

5 Potential Career Paths for the Returning Tyson Kidd

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Tyson Kidd (Courtesy of WWE.com)

On the November 4, edition of Monday Night Raw, Tyson Kidd made his highly anticipated return to the ring after a long layoff. He defeated Fandango and Summer Rae in mixed tag team action alongside his real life wife, Natalya.

In January, Kidd was sidelined with a torn knee meniscus injury. It was reported that he would be out of action anywhere from six to 12 months.

At the time, Kidd was involved in an entertaining tag team with Justin Gabriel and was considered a cornerstone of the division. He was also endorsed by CM Punk during a promo on the premiere episode of Raw in 2013, so the injury couldn't have come at a worse time.

Nonetheless, Kidd has since fully recovered and is now back to being an active member of the roster. However, now that he has finally returned, what will WWE's Creative Team plan to do with him?

Here, I will propose five potential career paths the Canadian grappler can take going forward.

Bring "Total Divas" Relationship with Natalya to WWE TV

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This would be the most obvious choice for Tyson Kidd, who teamed with Natalya on Raw this past week to defeat the duo of Fandango and Summer Rae. At various points during the match, the commentators heavily hyped the return of Total Divas on the E! Network, which explains why Kidd was brought back at the time that he was.

Michael Cole even stated later on in the show that Kidd was trending thanks to the "power of Total Divas". Yeah, sure, whatever you say, Cole.

On the show's midseason finale, Kidd and Natalya tied the knot after dating for many years. The wedding was acknowledged on WWE's official website in June, but was hardly (if at all) mentioned on WWE programming.

This wouldn't be the first time that Natalya and Kidd have brought their relationship to television, though, as Natalya managed Kidd from 2009 to 2010 before parting ways. Now, it would just be official.

Besides, isn't exposing real life relationships the new thing to do in WWE these days? From Daniel Bryan and Brie Bella to John Cena and Nikki Bella, it would only make sense for Kidd and Natalya to do the same.

Of all the suggested scenarios, this would probably get Kidd the most television time, considering how high backstage officials are on the Total Divas show.

Find a New Manager/Bodyguard

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After breaking away from The Hart Dynasty in November 2010, Tyson Kidd found a new ally in Jackson Andrews. You know, the big guy who made minimal appearances on WWE television? Yeah, that guy.

Many compared the pairing of Kidd and Andres to that of Shawn Michaels and Diesel from the '90s. I wouldn't exactly have gone that far, but they definitely did have potential to a solid midcard act.

Following a loss to Mark Henry on the December 27, 2010 edition of Raw, Kidd sent Andrews into the ring to do his dirty work, but he ended up being on the receiving end of a World Strongest Slam as well and hasn't been seen since.

Kidd has all the right tools to become a star in WWE, but his mic skills could certainly use some work. Thus, a manager would be perfect in helping him get to the next level.

Ryback isn't doing anything of note at the moment, so why not pair him with Kidd? Mason Ryan hasn't been seen in a while, so why not bring him back and have him manage the former tag team champion?

Paul Heyman is currently off television with an "injury", but once he returns, I wouldn't mind seeing him become the new mouthpiece of Kidd.

Chase the Intercontinental Championship

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Before it became WWE's primary developmental territory in June 2012, NXT was a "reality" show with rookies and up-and-coming talents honing their craft. The competition aspect of the program was later scrapped and it became the place where undercard Superstars, including Tyson Kidd, would go to randomly face each other.

Needless to say, NXT: Redemption was an absolute atrocity, but it did feature several solid matches, one of which being Kidd vs. Michael McGillicutty. They had a series of matchups together that saw each competitor score a victory, and the rivalry raged on for many months.

They even faced off in the main event of the first ever episode of NXT once it was revamped, which received rave reviews from viewers. It is just a shame that feud never actually made it to television.

However, WWE now has the opportunity to right that wrong by having them feud over the Intercontinental Championship. McGillicutty, who is now known to the WWE Universe as Curtis Axel, won the title a mere month after being repackaged and has been the reigning champion ever since.

That being said, Axel hasn't gotten over with the fans as officials initially hoped, so the belt is hindering him (or possibly the other way around) more than it is helping him at this point. In my mind, there would be no one better for Axel to drop the strap to than Kidd.

Kidd, a former tag team champion, has yet to taste singles gold in WWE, and when better to than right now upon his return to the ring? The matches between the two would be excellent and the moment Kidd finally captures the championship would be a memorable moment for sure.

Revive the Calgary Kid Gimmick

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Although Tyson Kidd was cleared to compete weeks ago, it wasn't until this past Monday night that he finally returned on Raw. However, whether you realized it or not, Kidd has already been appearing on WWE programming for the last few weeks a part of Los Locales.

Along with Ricardo Rodriguez, Kidd was put under the mask to unsuccessfully rival the team of Los Matadores on two separate occasions. I didn't like the idea of Kidd and Ricardo teaming, but I did like the idea of Kidd donning a mask.

On an episode of Raw in Calgary, Alberta, Canada in August 2009, The Miz disguised him as the well-known television character The Calgary Kid to win a Contract on a Pole match against Eugene. He unmasked after the matchup concluded, but I always thought there was potential in using that gimmick on a regular basis.

While he does get decent reactions on occasion, Kidd isn't exactly over as a singles competitor, so putting him under the mask might help him create a new identity for himself. Not only is his last name Kidd, but he is also from Calgary, so the character fits him to perfection.

This scenario is unlikely given the ample amount of masked marvels already in WWE (Los Matadores, Sin Cara, Rey Mysterio, etc.), but it would still be a fun persona for Kidd to portray.

Reform Tag Team with Justin Gabriel

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Mere days before WrestleMania 28, Tyson Kidd and Justin Gabriel faced off on an episode of WWE Superstars. Following the bout, Kidd and Gabriel shook hands, forming an alliance in the process.

The two went on to contend for the WWE Tag Team Championships in a Triple Threat match that Sunday on "The Grandest Stage of Them All", but came up short. An injury Gabriel sustained in that match delayed their pairing, but the two reunited upon Gabriel's return to the ring in June 2012.

Their on-and-off partnership lasted for the remainder of the year before it was Kidd's turn to sit on the sidelines with an injury. Now that Kidd is back and better than ever before, it would only make sense for the two high-fliers to pick up right where they left off in the tag team division.

It was reported last month that Triple H is interested in pushing tag team wrestling once again, and among the tandems mentioned was Kidd and Gabriel. Collectively known as International Airstrike, I would certainly say they have a chance of contending for the tag titles given their exhilarating offense and connection with crowds.

Graham Mirmina, a.k.a. Graham "GSM" Matthews, is a journalism major at Endicott College. Visit his website at Next Era Wrestling and "like" his official Facebook page to continue the conversation on all things wrestling.